OUTLANDER season four excitement is really starting to heat up and while fans still have over three months to wait author of the novels Diana Gabaldon has revealed an incredibly surprising fact about Jamie Fraser and star Sam Heughan which could lead to a development for the show as it goes forward.

Outlander author Diana Gabaldon has written eight novels about loved-up married couple Jamie Fraser (played by Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe), and she is currently in the middle of her ninth.

The STARZ series still has a long way to go before it catches up with Diana’s current storylines but in the meantime fans might be surprised to learn that to her there is absolutely no one else for Jamie’s role but Scot actor Sam, 38.

Some fans have already marvelled at the electric chemistry between co-stars Sam and Caitriona, 38, in one of their first unearthed screen tests together.

The pair’s chemistry seemed to fly off the screen and they clearly already had a rapport.

Yet while Caitriona was forced to audition more than once, Diana knew Sam was the one for the role instantly.

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Speaking at a panel for The Great American Read series in the US, Diana revealed: “I know that for a number of readers, because they say so on my Facebook page and so forth, the vision of the actors does, in fact, supersede their original vision of what the characters looked like.

“It doesn’t for me. They still look the same way they’ve always looked.

“First time I saw Sam Heughan, they sent me his audition tape for Jamie Fraser, and I was looking up his pictures on my way to wherever I was going.

“He has a very limited filmography, not many pictures, and, frankly, the ones that he had up were strange.”

The author continued: “Anyway, so, when I saw the audition, I didn’t know what to expect. He appeared, and in five seconds into it, I was saying he doesn’t look anything like his photos. He looks fine.

Outlander season 4 spoilers: Will Jamie Fraser remain on the STARZ show forever? (Image: STARZ)

I recognised him immediately

Diana Gabaldon

“Five seconds more, he was gone, and it was just Jamie Fraser right there. I recognized him immediately.”

The surprising confession could hint that regardless of how long the television adaptation runs, the crew and original author will outright refuse to continue without its original red-headed Jamie.

What’s more, could Sam have secretly signed a contract which says no other actor could ever replace him?

The writer went on to share how she came about writing her first book, insisting she used the time-travel romance for “practice”.

“I don’t write in a straight line and I don’t plan stories out ahead of time,” she admitted. “I, in fact, don’t actually know what’s going to happen in a book.

Outlander season 4: This series will see Jamie and Claire live in America (Image: STARZ)

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“I began writing Outlander for practice. I knew I was supposed to be a novelist, but I didn’t know how; and I decided the way to learn was to actually write a novel.

“So, Outlander was my practice book. I was never going to show it to anyone, so it didn’t matter what I did with it. It didn’t have to have a genre, so I used anything that I like. And I’ve been reading since I was three years old."

Speaking about her ninth foray into the Outlander universe, which is yet to be given a title, Diana shared she is currently expanding on past plots.

“There are pieces where I encounter, you know, an emotional thread that I had dropped in the last book,” she went on. “So, I will go back to read through it and pick that up so it will come into the new book with its original power.”

Outlander season four returns to STARZ and Amazon Prime Video in November.